Many electronic devices are advantageously configured to reduce or substantially eliminate electromagnetic radiation which can potentially cause interference, so called electromagnetic interference (EMI). Examples of such electronic devices include computers, network devices such as routers, bridges and the like. A major source of electromagnetic interference is signal or data transmission lines which, depending on how the lines are terminated, can effectively operate as antenna, transmitting electromagnetic signals which result in interference. Typically, the transmission lines are used for carrying signals which, for proper operation of the electronic device, must be configured to avoid distorting or changing the waveshape percent of the signal and must, in general, substantially maintain signal integrity. Accordingly, it would be useful to provide a termination device for transmission lines which is configurable to simultaneously reduce or eliminate EMI and to maintain signal integrity. In particular, resistors are commonly used as transmission line terminators, but may not be completely satisfactory, especially when both signal integrity and reduction of EMI are important. Accordingly it would be useful to improve on resistors, as transmission line terminators.
One type of transmission line commonly found in computers and other electronic devices, and believed to be responsible for a major portion of EMI are clock signal lines. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a device for terminating clock signal lines which both reduces or eliminates EMI and maintains the waveshape or otherwise maintains signal integrity of clock signals.
Typically, transmission line terminators will be provided on one or more printed circuit boards (PCBs) of an electronic device. In general, many electronic devices are designed to be as small as feasible so that the circuit boards therein typically cannot be configured with additional components which are large in size and/or numerous. Accordingly, it would be useful to provide terminators for transmission lines which require relatively little space on PCBs. Preferably, the terminator components are configured so as to be relatively low in cost and relatively easy to manufacture and assemble on the PCB.